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How will cancer affect pregnancy & giving birth.

Hi there! I'd like to share to all of you one of my concerns regarding pregnancy.

My grandmother, Dad's mother, died of breast cancer even before I was born. They say cancer cells are transferred from one generation to another. And some people even say that if the hereditary disease or illness does not appear on the generation that follows, it has a greater possibility that it will on the succeeding generations. And since nobody has acquired the disease yet as of the moment, I was thinking maybe it is possible someone in my generation or my kids will get it. Is it true?

And my follow-up question is, if you happen to get pregnant while you have cancer, will it affect your baby's physical characteristics and are there any risks of having miscarriage or complications?

My mother died of breast cancer when she was 48. I am 48 now and I do not have breast cancer...yet (though I'm not planning on getting it).

However, because of my mother's situation, I did a LOT of research on my risks, being that it can be hereditary, and here's what I found.

"Yes", some parents can actually pass down a gene that can now be tested for, to see if you carry that gene or not (the presence of the gene increases your odds of getting cancer).

However, the better thing for everyone to do is to avoid substances and situations that actually cause cancer.

First of all, we know that stress is the enemy of health. It pretty much trumps everything else that you may be doing for your body (i.e. eating organic foods, avoiding sugar, etc.). If you have stress, your body simply won't function well and most of us experience some decline in health, in one way or another. So practicing relaxation every day, laughing every day, deep breathing every day and making sure we get plenty of good quality sleep are all ways to reduce stress and increase our odds of avoiding cancer.

Another super important thing to do is to eat FRESH, organic foods as often as possible. Many people who eat an 80% raw food diet with lots of deep leafy greens, fresh fruits and vegetables, that are ORGANIC lead a very healthy life... some have even reversed their diseases, like cancer, by eating a highly raw food diet. If you're eating mostly cooked foods, you can reduce your risk of getting cancer by incorporating more raw foods into your diet. One of the best ways to do this is to start adding raw foods, rather than taking away what you are already eating. Start by eating a big green salad before lunch, then eat whatever you would normally eat for lunch. Same for dinner - eat a big green salad before dinner, than whatever you normally eat for dinner. Soon your will notice that your body wants more of the raw foods, and you will naturally reduce the cooked.

The reason we want to eat organic is because we need to reduce the pesticides and herbicides that the conventionally grown foods have. From the research I've done, it looks like every cancer cell that has ever been tested has had pesticide residues in them. Also most of us have pesticide residues in our urine, and if it's in our urine, it's in our body.

We not only come in contact with pesticides (poisons) through our food, but we also come in contact with them in the air and through our skin (if you're using pesticides in your home or garden). If you use "weed and feed" on your lawn to keep the weeds down, you're using pesticides. If you walk on that lawn barefoot, your skin is coming into contact with residues. The skin is the largest organ of the body and we absorb nutrients and poisons through our skin, so be careful what you put on your skin and what you touch.

Having said that, it's almost impossible to live without touching something made of plastic, yet plastics are hormone disrupters, which can cause a state of disease. So be sure you limit the plastics you use, and never heat food in plastic. Transfer the food or beverage from that styrofoam container to a glass or paper container before heating.

And another thing to be aware of is the off-gassing of the interior of a new car, tires, vinyl, etc. If you walk through an aisle at the store and it smells "funny", you can guess that there is probably some kind of chemical present that you need to avoid. If you walk into your car mechanic's building and it smells like rubber or tires, you'll want to try to limit your time in that area, because you'll be breathing in chemicals which can cause illness.

Any one of these things alone may not pose much of a problem, but when you're exposed to these things every day, they can all build up in the body and that's the time when cancer or other disease can happen. You'll want to be kind to your liver, because that's the organ that helps to eliminate toxins from the body. No alcohol, and limiting coffee (no coffee would be better) will help, as well as drinking dandelion tea to help support the liver.

I don't think that if you happen to get pregnant while you have cancer, that it will affect your baby. I've known a number of women who had cancer during their pregnancies, and they gave birth to healthy babies. The only increased risk of miscarriage may be if your body is trying to heal you, and it's also trying to support a pregnancy, and it simply can't handle the demands of both. Some cancers can be more of a threat to pregnancy than others (especially if there is cancer in any of the reproductive organs).

But I wouldn't be concerned about it. I would be very consiciencious of living a healthy lifestyle because that's what will keep you with good energy, a good, happy outlook on life, and a healthy body. If you know you could get pregnant again, or you're thinking of having another baby, it's important to start a preconception program to help avoid miscarriage and possible pregnancy problems.

Yes, I agree with you that living a healthy life, most especially eating the right kind of foods, surely help us prevent or fight against all diseases and not just cancer. I am aware of some of the things you said about harmful substances. And in relation to breast cancer, I do BSE frequently to check for irregularities. Thanks for the helpful information and for the taking the time to share them to me.

Regards,

Rhea

Originally Posted by 5Homebirths4Kate

Hi Rhea,

My mother died of breast cancer when she was 48. I am 48 now and I do not have breast cancer...yet (though I'm not planning on getting it).

However, because of my mother's situation, I did a LOT of research on my risks, being that it can be hereditary, and here's what I found.

"Yes", some parents can actually pass down a gene that can now be tested for, to see if you carry that gene or not (the presence of the gene increases your odds of getting cancer).

However, the better thing for everyone to do is to avoid substances and situations that actually cause cancer.

First of all, we know that stress is the enemy of health. It pretty much trumps everything else that you may be doing for your body (i.e. eating organic foods, avoiding sugar, etc.). If you have stress, your body simply won't function well and most of us experience some decline in health, in one way or another. So practicing relaxation every day, laughing every day, deep breathing every day and making sure we get plenty of good quality sleep are all ways to reduce stress and increase our odds of avoiding cancer.

Another super important thing to do is to eat FRESH, organic foods as often as possible. Many people who eat an 80% raw food diet with lots of deep leafy greens, fresh fruits and vegetables, that are ORGANIC lead a very healthy life... some have even reversed their diseases, like cancer, by eating a highly raw food diet. If you're eating mostly cooked foods, you can reduce your risk of getting cancer by incorporating more raw foods into your diet. One of the best ways to do this is to start adding raw foods, rather than taking away what you are already eating. Start by eating a big green salad before lunch, then eat whatever you would normally eat for lunch. Same for dinner - eat a big green salad before dinner, than whatever you normally eat for dinner. Soon your will notice that your body wants more of the raw foods, and you will naturally reduce the cooked.

The reason we want to eat organic is because we need to reduce the pesticides and herbicides that the conventionally grown foods have. From the research I've done, it looks like every cancer cell that has ever been tested has had pesticide residues in them. Also most of us have pesticide residues in our urine, and if it's in our urine, it's in our body.

We not only come in contact with pesticides (poisons) through our food, but we also come in contact with them in the air and through our skin (if you're using pesticides in your home or garden). If you use "weed and feed" on your lawn to keep the weeds down, you're using pesticides. If you walk on that lawn barefoot, your skin is coming into contact with residues. The skin is the largest organ of the body and we absorb nutrients and poisons through our skin, so be careful what you put on your skin and what you touch.

Having said that, it's almost impossible to live without touching something made of plastic, yet plastics are hormone disrupters, which can cause a state of disease. So be sure you limit the plastics you use, and never heat food in plastic. Transfer the food or beverage from that styrofoam container to a glass or paper container before heating.

And another thing to be aware of is the off-gassing of the interior of a new car, tires, vinyl, etc. If you walk through an aisle at the store and it smells "funny", you can guess that there is probably some kind of chemical present that you need to avoid. If you walk into your car mechanic's building and it smells like rubber or tires, you'll want to try to limit your time in that area, because you'll be breathing in chemicals which can cause illness.

Any one of these things alone may not pose much of a problem, but when you're exposed to these things every day, they can all build up in the body and that's the time when cancer or other disease can happen. You'll want to be kind to your liver, because that's the organ that helps to eliminate toxins from the body. No alcohol, and limiting coffee (no coffee would be better) will help, as well as drinking dandelion tea to help support the liver.

I don't think that if you happen to get pregnant while you have cancer, that it will affect your baby. I've known a number of women who had cancer during their pregnancies, and they gave birth to healthy babies. The only increased risk of miscarriage may be if your body is trying to heal you, and it's also trying to support a pregnancy, and it simply can't handle the demands of both. Some cancers can be more of a threat to pregnancy than others (especially if there is cancer in any of the reproductive organs).

But I wouldn't be concerned about it. I would be very consiciencious of living a healthy lifestyle because that's what will keep you with good energy, a good, happy outlook on life, and a healthy body. If you know you could get pregnant again, or you're thinking of having another baby, it's important to start a preconception program to help avoid miscarriage and possible pregnancy problems.